


Next Time Wake Me

by MysteriousMidnight



Series: Dear Evan Hansen One Shots [8]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: BandTrees, But mostly fluff, Connor is alive in this, Connor's not Evan's, Evan is a bit self-deprecating, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, No plot just fluff, One Shot, Tiny bit of Angst, Zoevan, brief mention of a suicide attempt, mention of anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25434634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteriousMidnight/pseuds/MysteriousMidnight
Summary: Evan has nightmares. Zoe comforts him when he has them.
Relationships: Evan Hansen - Relationship, Zoe Murphy - Relationship
Series: Dear Evan Hansen One Shots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757371
Comments: 16
Kudos: 22





	Next Time Wake Me

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy all. This was a request from a mutual on tumblr for BandTrees Hurt/Comfort. This is my first time writing BandTrees, although I've done headcanons for them and been told they're amazing?? So I hope you enjoy :D

It wasn’t unusual for Evan to startle awake from a nightmare. It happened often, unfortunately.

What _was_ unusual was the fact that, for the last week, every time he’d woken from a nightmare, Zoe Murphy had been there to comfort him and help him fall back to sleep.

His nightmares had been the reason he’d pushed back every time she’d asked to sleep over - she had enough reasons to think he was a complete loser already; he didn’t want to add another. He’d finally run out of excuses, though, and had agreed to let her spend the night. 

The first time it had happened, he’d been completely mortified; it had been bad, the kind of nightmare where he yelled and thrashed, accidentally smacking her under her right eye when she’d leaned over to wake him. Her cry of pain had startled him awake. He’d immediately gotten her ice and apologized profusely. She’d been kind and understanding - more so than he’d expected - although explaining the black eye to the other Murphy’s had been... interesting. Her parents had believed her when she’d said she’d taken an elbow to the eye in gym class. Connor, however, had seen her at school that day and knew she was lying. It had taken a _lot_ of convincing before he believed them, and he’d still threatened to beat the shit out of Evan if he found out they were lying. 

But this was the fourth night in a row he’d had a nightmare, and for once, his movements hadn’t startled her awake. She looked so peaceful; he reached out and gently brushed hair off her face. She twitched her nose and rolled over, but didn’t wake. 

He sighed. He didn’t want to burden her with his nightmares again, so he carefully climbed out of bed and tiptoed downstairs. He shuffled into the living room, curling up on the couch. It was then that he realized just how late it was – almost 3am.

He turned the TV on with the volume as low as it could go so it wouldn’t echo upstairs; he was in for a sleepless night, so he might as well find something fun to watch.

~*~*~

Zoe shivered, rolling over in an attempt to snuggle closer to Evan, who always seemed to radiate heat. 

Except he wasn’t there.

She blinked her sleepy eyes, frowning at his side of the bed. 

“Evan?” she called. No answer. She stood, grabbing Evan’s Ellison State Park hoodie off his desk chair and slipping it on. She breathed in Evan’s scent, then made her way into the hallway. The bathroom was dark. She frowned, making her way downstairs.

“Hey,” she said softly, when she found Evan on the living room couch. 

“Oh, hey,” Evan replied sheepishly. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

Zoe shook her head, sitting beside him. “No, but you should have. Nightmare?”

Evan shrugged. “I didn’t want to wake you again. You looked so peaceful and this is, like, the fourth night in a row.”

“Fifth, but who’s counting?” Zoe asked with a grin, trying to lighten the mood.

Evan forced a smile, looking down at his lap.

“Hey, you okay? Was it bad?” She reached out and rested her hand on his leg. 

Evan shrugged again, placing his hand on top of hers. “Kinda.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Zoe asked, shifting closer.

“Not really.” He reached over and put an arm around her. She grinned, resting her head on his shoulder. 

“Okay, so let’s order pizza and watch a Disney movie.”

Evan smiled. “You know exactly how to cheer me up.”

Zoe nodded, nuzzling his neck and kissing his cheek. “Mhm. What kinda pizza do you want?”

“Whatever you want,” Evan shrugged. “But I get to pick the movie.” 

Zoe waved him off, pulling up the GrubHub app on her phone. She placed the order, then snuggled back into Evan’s side. They sat in silence for a long time, neither of them really taking in the movie playing in the background.

After awhile, Evan frowned at Zoe out of the corner of his eye. She was gorgeous, in every sense of the word. She was patient with him when his anxiety got the best of him. They fought sometimes, sure; all couples did. But they were always there for each other when it counted the most. 

He would never be good enough for her, though. They’d been dating for eight months now, and he still questioned it, still wondered why.

“I don’t deserve you.”

Zoe startled, sitting up. “ _What_?”

“I don’t,” Evan said simply, shrugging. “I’ll never understand why you chose me when you could have anyone.”

The pizza guy chose _that_ moment to ring the bell.

“Stay right there,” Zoe warned. “This conversation isn’t over.” She stood and padded over to the door, quickly paying for the pizza. She put the box on the coffee table and sat back down, facing Evan. 

“So what movie did you wanna watch next?” Evan asked causally. 

“Nope, you’re not changing the subject. To answer your question. I don’t want _anyone_ \- I want _you_ ,” she said firmly.

Evan let out a bitter chuckle. “Why? I’m a mess.”

“But you’re a _hot_ mess,” Zoe quipped, smirking at him when he gave her a baffled frown. 

“Using the word ‘hot’ in relation to me should be illegal,” Evan huffed. “I’m definitely not hot. Or cool. Or good enough for you. I can’t even _sleep_ like a normal person.”

Zoe shook her head. “Loving someone is about taking the good with the bad. And the things you think are weird are the things that make me love you.”

Evan looked up, eyes wide. “I- You love me?”

Zoe slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes widening to match Evan’s.

“It’s fine, never mind,” Evan said quickly. “You’re tired, I- it’s fine.” He stood, looking around for an excuse to walk away. “I, um... plates.” He tried to escape to the kitchen, but Zoe grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

“I’m sorry, that came out weird. And I surprised myself by saying it out loud, but I mean it,” Zoe said firmly. “I love you.”

Evan stared at her, opening and closing his mouth. He had no idea what to say.

“I’m glad my brother shoved you,” she said quickly, saving him from having to reply. “Because it’s the reason we started talking. And I’m glad we started talking because you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, Evan. That whole first week of school, with Connor - him almost dying was so hard on my family. And having you there was just...”

Evan placed a hand on her cheek and she nuzzled into it. 

“I’m not saying I’m glad he tried to kill himself, but I’m glad the events that unfolded brought us together. And I’m glad he’s not dead, of course.”

Evan nodded. “I get what you’re trying to say.”

Zoe nodded, taking a deep breath. “My point is, I love you. I do. And I know the voices in your head try to tell you you’re unlovable. And I know some days are harder than others. But I love you. And nothing you do is going to scare me away. Not even nightmares that are so bad, you punch me in the face during them.”

“Oh my god, Zo,” Evan groaned, covering his face with his hands. “PLEASE don’t remind me about that. I thought Connor was going to beat the _shit_ out of me over that...”

Zoe snickered, pulling his hands away from his face, lacing their fingers.

“Just promise me you’ll wake me next time, okay?” Zoe insisted. “Because that’s the whole point of a relationship, Evan. We’re here for each other no matter what happens.”

Evan nodded, sighing. “Okay, yeah. I’ll wake you next time. I promise.”

Zoe nodded, leaning in and kissing him. Evan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap. She tangled her fingers in his hair, deepening the kiss.

When they pulled apart, they were both smiling, panting just a little. 

“Back to bed? It’s cold down here and I wanna snuggle.” Zoe pouted. 

Evan snickered, nodding. He shifted so he could stand with Zoe in his arms, bridal style. He kissed her cheek, walking them back upstairs. He set her gently in bed, then climbed over her - pausing to press their bodies together and kiss her again - and settled in beside her. 

“I guess the pizza is breakfast for tomorrow,” Evan said suddenly. 

“Breakfast of champions,” Zoe joked, snuggling closer to him.

“By the way?”

“Hm?” Zoe asked, resting her head on his chest and sighing contentedly.

“I love you, too.”


End file.
